why-the-masses-fail-at-shooting-cast

[michael.birdsley]

basically, most people are too impatient to shoot cast bulllets and to be fair most people don’t have the time anymore.

i’ll be honest if i didn’t literally live 2 miles from my conservation club range. i may be in the same catogory.

it takes more tinkering when your brand new at it. which, means more trips to the range. however, the reward is greater when you do it get it right. I like diving down rabbit holes. i realized a while back i can’t afford to shoot jacketed bullets in all of my guns. some of my guns though i’ll only shoot jacketed bullets due to the bullets being cheaper IE .243.


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[higgins]

I break down found rounds from the range for the lead. Most are 9mm. It's amazing how many PC bullets have the PC scraped off for up to 25 to 50 percent of the bullet circumference, exposing bare lead. This is very common, so I would suggest quite a few are failing because they don't understand properly belling case mouths. An M-die would work wonders for them.

[KenH]

As a current “non caster”, I have one question. Now please don’t take this wrong, I’m being sincere. What have these “masses” failed to do? I tie my own trout flies and others buy them. We both catch trout. The differences is that they don’t sit at the table hour after hour tying flies and I do. They don’t buy expensive equipment (good hooks, vices, hackles, thread, various tools, etc) and end up with the same results. What is better about cast bullets over jacketed bullets in the end? Again, I tie flies and you guys cast bullets. So, are the flies/bullets better when we make them? I say “no”, but it’s fun to catch a trout on my own fly. It’s not a bigger trout, a better trout, or a better caught trout. It’s just a trout. How about cast bullets? Same end result? Maybe a lot of people just don’t want to put the time in with no better end result.

OK, at this point it doesn't seem anyone has answered the question you asked. You didn't ask what was wrong with the OP's photos, you didn't ask why folks couldn't load good cast bullets. You asked a simple question "What is better about cast bullets over jacketed bullets in the end?"

My answer (and this is only my opinion" that cast bullets are not "better" per se. They don't shoot faster, nor are they more accurate than jacketed bullets. I started reloading back in the 70's while in college when money was tight. Cast bullets could be loaded less than jacket. At the time "if" I remember correctly jacket bullets were on the order of 10¢ or so each, perhaps only 5¢? While cast was basically free as I could find plenty of wheelweights, lead, linotype, etc for almost no cost, or no cost. The only cost to reload a 30-30, .357, etc was the 1¢ primer and a tad of powder. Back then using NoLox lube the max was around 1600 or so fps - still lots of fun to shoot. Properly loaded my wife's 6mm would hold at 75 yds at one ragged hole with 3 shots.

These days the biggest factor for me is the fun of casting and loading.

[murf205]

When I started to shoot cast, I had to be the luckiest guy ever. An old friend and I bought a Lyman bottom pour and a 2 cvavity 429421 and went at it. Our results were pretty fair for 2 clutzes who only knew how to pull a press handle.
Then I took a deer with that 44 and I was hooked. It is easy to keep reading and learning when it is something that you really like and can see instant gratification in. The people on this site have been a wealth of help along the way. If only algebra had held my attention this well!

[Land Owner]

Having a place to shoot made the difference for me. I live 30-minutes from my land. I make reloads, both cast and jacketed. Using a checklist, I pack everything (multiple guns) into the truck, drive to the property, set up the bench, targets, spotting scopes, etc., shoot, change targets, shoot some more, log the results as it happens, put everything back into the truck, pack out, go home after about 3 hours, unload the truck, clean everything, put everything away, analyze the data, and make plans for the next outing. The data analysis is quite fun and when the result is an extremely accurate shooting iron, even more so! The game never sees the amount of work put into its demise...

[rbuck351]

In my handguns, my home cast boolits work just as well as jacketed bullets and cost less than 1 cent each as opposed to 15 to 25 cents each for jacketed. This allows me to shoot a lot more for the same cost. Some of my rifles also work as well with cast as with jacketed such as my 25/20, 35 rem and 45/70. I don't expect performance much beyond 2000 fps to be equal to jacketed bullets but they work quite well. There are some folks that get good results much higher than that which gives me a goal to work toward. I hope to get there some day.

[georgerkahn]

As a current “non caster”, I have one question. Now please don’t take this wrong, I’m being sincere. What have these “masses” failed to do? I tie my own trout flies and others buy them. We both catch trout. The differences is that they don’t sit at the table hour after hour tying flies and I do. They don’t buy expensive equipment (good hooks, vices, hackles, thread, various tools, etc) and end up with the same results. What is better about cast bullets over jacketed bullets in the end? Again, I tie flies and you guys cast bullets. So, are the flies/bullets better when we make them? I say “no”, but it’s fun to catch a trout on my own fly. It’s not a bigger trout, a better trout, or a better caught trout. It’s just a trout. How about cast bullets? Same end result? Maybe a lot of people just don’t want to put the time in with no better end result.

WELL SPOKEN (written)!!! I voice similarly, and am questioned often enough to note it when I am asked WHY I regularly spend several hours complementing four U S dollars worth of ingredients (not figuring in oven gas cost, pans, bowls, and the subsequent washing) for me to make/bake a loaf of bread where a similar one may be purchased at Wal*Mart for $3.59 USD? One of my sons ties his own flies, too!
For me, I guess the best word I can conjure is "SATISFACTION". Be it harvesting veggies I started from seed in MY own garden; cutting that first slice of a still-warm loaf of home made (both sourdough and/or yeast) bread; or seeing that hole in the black on a paper target (or fall of a critter target )... Hey -- I smelted the alloy; I chose the mould; I chose the load; I chose the firearm employed; and... I SEE the results.
SATISFACTION
geo

[phantom22]

As a current “non caster”, I have one question. Now please don’t take this wrong, I’m being sincere. What have these “masses” failed to do? I tie my own trout flies and others buy them. We both catch trout. The differences is that they don’t sit at the table hour after hour tying flies and I do. They don’t buy expensive equipment (good hooks, vices, hackles, thread, various tools, etc) and end up with the same results. What is better about cast bullets over jacketed bullets in the end? Again, I tie flies and you guys cast bullets. So, are the flies/bullets better when we make them? I say “no”, but it’s fun to catch a trout on my own fly. It’s not a bigger trout, a better trout, or a better caught trout. It’s just a trout. How about cast bullets? Same end result? Maybe a lot of people just don’t want to put the time in with no better end result.

Another way to look at it is for self-sufficiency. Also there is something to be said for practicing the manly arts.

I cast not because I'm trying to make better than jacketed or to push the limits of what is possible, but to keep that skill in my pocket. Someday my life or my family's lives may depend on that skill. I try to have a rudimentary knowledge of how almost everything that I use day to day works. From how a well is dug to how wiring in your house works. If anything it helps you learn about yourself. How many truly know what they are capable of? Not only will doing things like this increase your skill set it can also teach you about your limitations so you know what is beyond your ability to do competently and safely. As we age, our abilities and limitations change. Sometimes cognitively and always physically to some extent.

As to the OP's anecdote, I find it amusing that some people will talk from their most maximum of glutes, rather than saying "I don't know". Do they feel that not knowing makes them somehow lesser and that somehow portraying themselves as King of the Feeble Minded is preferable? I have learned countless things by saying I don't know when I really don't know. Had that fellow simply said he didn't know and struck up a conversation about it he may have come dangerously close to learning something. That may have invalidated his royal status among his peers, so that has to be considered.

[dtknowles]

As a current “non caster”, I have one question. Now please don’t take this wrong, I’m being sincere. What have these “masses” failed to do? I tie my own trout flies and others buy them. We both catch trout. The differences is that they don’t sit at the table hour after hour tying flies and I do. They don’t buy expensive equipment (good hooks, vices, hackles, thread, various tools, etc) and end up with the same results. What is better about cast bullets over jacketed bullets in the end? Again, I tie flies and you guys cast bullets. So, are the flies/bullets better when we make them? I say “no”, but it’s fun to catch a trout on my own fly. It’s not a bigger trout, a better trout, or a better caught trout. It’s just a trout. How about cast bullets? Same end result? Maybe a lot of people just don’t want to put the time in with no better end result.

The challenge and the self-sufficiency. First it was to save money. I could cast and load my own for a lot less than even reloading store bought plain lead bullets and my bullets were better. There is for me satisfaction of doing something well that other people won't even try. There are some guns that you really need to cast your own bullets for, like a lot of old black powder rifles, not going to always be able to find the right bullet for sale. The self-sufficiency things is not so important for me anymore. I have a lifetime supply of ammo but there have been times when I wondered if ammo would be very hard to come by.
Like catching a fish with a fly you tied, there is a special satisfaction of shooting game or shooting a high score using ammo and bullets you made yourself.
Tim

[Shiloh]

Yikes!!!

Shiloh

[Good Cheer]

Heh, if there is a main problem it is inappropriately designed cartridges.

[GasGuzzler]

I made some mistakes but never anything that ugly. I would have changed something after the first one looked like that.

[charlie b]

As a current “non caster”, I have one question. Now please don’t take this wrong, I’m being sincere. What have these “masses” failed to do? I tie my own trout flies and others buy them. We both catch trout. The differences is that they don’t sit at the table hour after hour tying flies and I do. They don’t buy expensive equipment (good hooks, vices, hackles, thread, various tools, etc) and end up with the same results. What is better about cast bullets over jacketed bullets in the end? Again, I tie flies and you guys cast bullets. So, are the flies/bullets better when we make them? I say “no”, but it’s fun to catch a trout on my own fly. It’s not a bigger trout, a better trout, or a better caught trout. It’s just a trout. How about cast bullets? Same end result? Maybe a lot of people just don’t want to put the time in with no better end result.

I do both Cast bullets and tie flies. I started both due to budget. I could reload cast bullets cheaper over the long run than purchasing bullets.

Same thing with flies. The first time I lost some store bought flies in the bushes frustrated me enough that I bought one of those really cheap vises and tied my own.

Over the years all of this became part of my enjoyment of the hobbies. Basically with guns I have three hobbies, shooting, reloading and casting. Then there is also fishing and fly tying. And, yes, each one stands alone. To be 'proficient' in each takes a lot of background education. Fly tying takes a lot of studying of insect life, fish behavior, and the materials used for the flies. Casting takes some metallurgy, lubrication, ballistics and mechanical knowledge. And each has their 'recipes' that is knowledge learned by others and passed on.

And another hobby of mine is restoring old sewing machines. I like taking something that has sat for ages in the back of a closet, basement or attic and making it work like new again. I then donate the machines to a local group. It has led to maintaining machines for a quilting group. And that led to making my own travel bags, motorcycle seats, some upholstery, gun cases, etc. And don't forget the leather holsters and belts

Why do any of this? Because you enjoy it!!!

[Bazoo]

Are cast bullets better? No, not better, but they are certainly satisfying to make and use. I enjoy the traditional aspect of cast bullets, the history of bullets is very interesting and cast bullets are a large part of that. It's not cast vs jacketed for me. I prefer cast, but they both have their place.

Having a bullet mould means you can make an unlimited supply of a bullet for your needs. So you never have to worry about supply of a bullet that works well for you.

Cost is a factor. I have scrounged my gear and lead, so my bullets cost me next to nothing.

Having ammunition is very important to me, and being able to make one of the key parts helps me to better supply my needs.

[dtknowles]

oh, and if I only shot factory ammo or used factory bullets I would have less reason to shoot as much as I do developing loads and testing ammo

Tim

[john.k]

Was at the range shooting cast 44-40s ....... a guy comes up and says .....Stop ,dont shoot any more ...your gun will blow up..........Then he explains that shooting more than five cast bullets is sooo dangerous ,cause the barrel will choke and blow up the gun..........Hey ,I never knew that .

[Winger Ed.]

Maybe a lot of people just don’t want to put the time in with no better end result.

That's 99% of it.
Plus they don't shoot enough for the learning curve, the time, and initial investment expense to be worth it for them.

If a box of 20 .30-06s and a couple boxes of .45ACP was all I shot in 3-4 years,
I wouldn't bother with reloading much less casting either.

[fiberoptik]

For the same reason some of us prefer a straight razor 🪒 or safety razor over electric . Or muzzleloaders and bows over the latest greatest fastest Magnums.

[Shopdog]

Patience is,or has to be near the top of the list for giving up?

As for JB vs cast.... the amt of tooling required,and the processes involved with jacketed makes them a wee bit too valuable to make mistakes. Don't like your cast? throw it back in the pot. Further,cast when utilizing bullet traps.... well,it's pretty dang easy to collect and remelt.

[Petander]

Before seeing those pics, I sort of thought "it could be expander related".

My biggest problems -and eye openers- were size/expander related. Today even 160 grn 9mm is a breeze.